I still remember the first time I saw my mother's old photo album from the 1980s - those faded images of her in her station wagon, soccer gear piled high in the back, rushing between my games and my sister's piano lessons. There was something magical about that era that today's hyper-organized youth sports culture has lost. The 1985 soccer mom wasn't just a chauffeur; she was the heart of community building, the keeper of secrets, and often the unsung hero of neighborhood dynamics. Those minivans and station wagons were rolling confessionals where life lessons were shared between juice boxes and grass-stained uniforms.
What strikes me most when reflecting on that period is how different the parenting philosophy was compared to today's meticulously scheduled childhoods. We didn't have travel teams for eight-year-olds or professional coaching for elementary school children. Our soccer fields were often uneven patches of grass where parents stood along the sidelines drinking coffee from thermoses rather than screaming instructions. The games felt organic, sometimes chaotic, but always authentic. I recall one particular season where our team lost every single match, yet we celebrated at the end with the same enthusiasm as if we'd won the World Cup. The post-game snacks - usually orange slices and those generic cookies that somehow tasted amazing - became the stuff of legend among us kids. There was no pressure to be exceptional, just to participate and enjoy.
The social fabric woven through those Saturday morning games created connections that lasted decades. My mother formed friendships with other soccer moms that continue to this day, nearly forty years later. They shared parenting struggles, marital advice, and life wisdom while watching us chase a ball across a field. The carpool conversations were where I first learned about real-world issues, listening to the mothers discuss everything from political changes to neighborhood gossip. These women created an informal support network that today's parents often pay therapists and coaches to provide. According to my mother's recollections, about 68% of her closest friendships today originated from those soccer field encounters between 1982 and 1989.
There's a parallel between the organic development in 80s youth sports and what we see in today's tennis world. When I read about Eala's journey through the grass-court tournaments, specifically her preparation at the Ilkley event marking her second grass-court tournament of the 2025 season, I can't help but see echoes of that earlier era. She's sharpening her game heading to Wimbledon through actual competition rather than endless drills - much like we developed our soccer skills through play rather than structured training. Her approach feels refreshingly authentic in today's overly-systematized sports landscape. The grass court season has always demanded adaptability and creativity, qualities that were nurtured naturally in the unstructured environments of 80s youth sports.
The equipment and fashion of 80s soccer culture deserve their own tribute. Those polyester uniforms in blindingly bright colors, the tube socks pulled up to knees, the clunky leather cleats that felt like lead weights when wet - they were objectively terrible by today's standards, yet they carry such potent nostalgic power. I still have my first pair of Adidas soccer shoes from 1987, the leather now cracked and stiff, but they transport me immediately back to those muddy fields. The minivans of that era were rolling disaster zones filled with forgotten water bottles, smelly gear, and cassette tapes of Madonna and Michael Jackson. My mother's Dodge Caravan had precisely 3,247 goldfish crackers permanently embedded in the carpet - or so it seemed to my childhood eyes.
What we've gained in modern sports technology and organization, we've perhaps lost in spontaneity and community. Today's soccer fields are pristine, the equipment space-age, the coaching professionalized - but the soul feels different. The average youth soccer player now participates in structured training for 12 hours weekly compared to the 4-5 hours we spent in the 80s, yet studies suggest the enjoyment factor has decreased by approximately 22% during the same period. The pressure to excel has overshadowed the simple joy of playing. I worry we've created perfect playing conditions at the cost of the imperfect, beautiful chaos that made sports meaningful.
As Eala continues her grass-court season with the Ilkley tournament, I see glimpses of that older approach - the value of gaining experience through competition, of learning through doing rather than through excessive analysis. There's wisdom in that method that today's hyper-specialized youth sports culture has largely abandoned. The 80s soccer mom understood this intuitively - she knew that showing up, participating, and being part of a community mattered more than winning every game. Those station wagons and minivans weren't just vehicles; they were the rolling hearts of neighborhoods, carrying not just children to games but transporting an entire philosophy of childhood that we'd do well to remember today. The grass stains faded, but the lessons learned on those fields have proven remarkably permanent.
People in Motion (PiM) is our employee advocacy and improvement program. These cross-functional groups are comprised of employees, with an executive sponsor, who contribute ideas and drive action towards focused areas of improvement across the employee experience. The groups include: Kyruus Kontext & Business Readiness; Community, Connectivity, & Engagement; System, Tools, & Productivity; IDEA [Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility].
As a remote-first company, we are invested in employees creating a work setup that allows them to do their best work. In addition to a laptop, we also provide you with $750 to get the additional equipment you need and add an ongoing amount of $1,200 to your salary to cover remote work costs.
We value ownership at Kyruus Health, not only in the work you do but in the shared financial success from our growth. Employees will have the opportunity to grow their equity ownership throughout their tenure.
We care about creating the time you need to bond for any team members at Kyruus Health growing their families. We offer 8 weeks of fully paid leave to all parents. Birthing parents are also eligible for additional time and coverage through our Short-Term Disability plan.
We encourage all employees to save for retirement through our 401(K) plan. Employees have the option to begin contributing to their accounts on their first day of employment and we offer an employer match of up to $1,500 per calendar year for all employees who enroll.
We offer employees a lifestyle stipend of $2,000 per year to help them be well. This is designed for Kyruus Health to offset the cost for items, experiences, or home expenses that enhance team members’ well-being
We want to provide employees and families with health insurance offerings to support them getting the care they need. Our health, dental, and vision plans are desiged to allow employees the opportunity to choose options that work best for themselves and their families.
We are committed to flexibility and empowering employees to do work that matters in a way that works for them. Our unlimited PTO policy is anchored on that flexibility – encouraging employees to take time off for what’s important to them, in addition to the many company holidays we celebrate. To highlight our commitment to a healthy work-life balance, we provide a specific stipend each quarter for employees to use on a recharge day.
